4.12.2012

GAME ONE BOX SCORE | GAME TWO BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University swept a softball doubleheader past visiting Norfolk State University of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Thursday at Lancer Field in Farmville.  The Lancers (26-18) won the first game 4-3 in come-from-behind fashion with four runs in the sixth inning, including a game-winning two-run double by senior Courtney Long|Mechanicsville (Hanover) as junior Ashley Cornell|Portsmouth (Churchland) gained the pitching win in relief against the Spartans (15-19).  The hosts took the second game 9-1 in six innings via the eight-run rule as junior Brooke Short|Hurt (Altavista) and freshmen Megan Baltzell|Stafford (Mountain View) each hit home runs, and senior Leigh Sexton|Suffolk (Randolph College) had the game-winning and walk-off two-run single, while Cornell garnered the complete-game pitching triumph.  Longwood will travel to Kentucky this weekend, April 14-15, for a three-game road series at the University of Louisville from the BIG EAST Conference.  The Cardinals (35-2) are ranked #12 nationally in the most recent USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.
   
In the opener, Norfolk State took an early 3-0 lead with three runs in the second inning as Gipsy Ramirez (0-3) walked and later scored following a bunt single by Morgan Boyd (2-3), and Danielle Wright (1-4, 2 RBI) added a two-run double for the Spartans.  Longwood finally got untracked in the sixth with one out when Baltzell (2-3) doubled and moved to third on a pinch-hit single by freshman Chelsea Sciacca|Whittier, Calif. (La Habra) (1-1) who made it to second on the throw.  Junior Jordan Cox|Springfield (Robert E. Lee) (1-3, RBI) followed with an RBI single to plate Baltzell, and Sciacca scored on the play as well via a throwing error.  After a well-earned walk by senior Ashley Kramer|Ashburn (Broad Run) (0-2), Long (1-3, 2 RBI) provided her clutch two-run double that proved the game-winner.
   
Cornell (10-6) earned the pitching win in relief for Longwood with the final 5.1 shutout innings, scattering four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.  Freshman Libby Morris|Dillwyn (Buckingham County) had started for the Lancers and went the first 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and three earned runs with two walks and one strikeout.  Jamie Schulle (7-9) took the loss for Norfolk State, yielding eight hits and three earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts.
   
In the nightcap, Longwood got going early with two runs in the first, three runs in the third, and two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings.  In the first, Baltzell (2-3, 2 RBI) doubled with two outs and scored on a towering two-run home run to right field by Short (1-2, 2 RBI) -- her fifth homer this season.  In the third, sophomore Leta Bressin| Gloucester (Gloucester) (3-4) reached on an infield single and scored on an RBI double by freshman Kori Nishitomi|Kaneohe, Hawaii (Maryknoll School) (2-4. RBI), and Nishitomi crossed the plate ahead of Baltzell who hit a two-run home run to right field as well -- her ninth homer this spring.
   
In the fifth, Cox added a two-run double that scored Bressin and Baltzell who had singled and walked, respectively, while in the sixth, Sexton (1-2, 2 RBI) had the game-ending two-run single that plated Bressin and Nishitomi who had each singled as well.  Cornell took the pitching win for Longwood with 6.0 innings, scattering five hits and one earned run with two walks and six strikeouts.
   
Norfolk State scored its lone run in the fourth on a double-steal play with Alina Moriarty (1-2) scoring, while Liz Riley (8-10) took the pitching loss for the Spartans with 2.1 innings, yielding five hits and five earned runs with one strikeout.